Pond cleaning

[tankmates]

Spring is finally close in Ohio! With the temp. nearing 60 degrees, I have been thinking about installing the pump and turning on the waterfall.

Today I removed the few leaves that I could see, I cleaned the area for the pump and the filter box at the waterfall. The only disturbing thing was the odor from the filter box for the waterfall. I rinsed the media, however it did not help very much. Should the media be replaced or is a good rinsing good enough?

Pic of the pond last summer.

 

[carolines100]

empty the filter box off that bad smelly water and clean the media with pond water then i would add some filter start to get them working again i hope that helps a bit.

 

[Muske]

Remove pads, rinse with the hose, and let dry. I dry mine out because once the crud had dried, it is easy to knock the rest off w/ an air hose, or by just slapping it on the ground. Since your falls is above the pond, you can use a shop vac to removeany of the remaining smelly water.

It is probally black and pretty thick?

 

[tankmates]

Yes, the water was black at the top of the falls. I removed the filter material, rinsed it well (some of the material is now stained black), removed the black water.

I turned on the pump and all seems OK. I have seen a few koi swimming around. I am happy that they made it through our severe winter.

 

[silenttears]

Hello, if you still have the yucky smell even though things are clean you can add a small bag of charcoal to your filter and it will take the smell away. You can take the bag of charcoal out once the smell is gone.

 

[Muske]

Did you pump the "black nasty" into the pond?

 

[tankmates]

I took out almost all of the black water. The falls are working again. The water seems fine. All koi survived the winter. Now, I hope that my plants also make a comeback.

 

[Muske]

The plants should most def. make it.

What kinds of plants do you have?

 

[tankmates]

I have vallisneria and several water lillies.

 

[Muske]

I think the Vals are hardy, the lilies def. Will be bigger this year w. more blooms.